According to the new Corona ordinance of Baden-Württemberg, alternating lessons from grade 8 can be offered in corona risk areas. A survey has shown that the school administrators have already shown interest in this.
After the school administrators were informed of the updated Corona regulation by the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs on Monday evening, the first inquiries about alternating lessons were received by the regional councils and state school authorities as the responsible school authorities on Tuesday morning. This was the result of a survey by the German Press Agency. The education and science union (GEW) fears a lengthy approval process and calls for nationwide solutions.
With alternating lessons, the classes or study groups are halved and taught alternately at home and at school. There should be a daily or weekly cycle. A minimum distance of 1.5 meters between the students should be guaranteed in face-to-face lessons. However, schoolchildren who have to take their final exams next spring are excluded from alternating and distance learning.
School principals from several government districts show interest
In the administrative district of Freiburg, head teachers from three vocational schools from Tuttlingen and Spaichingen (Tuttlingen district) and a grammar school from Schönau (Lörrach district) registered. In the Karlsruhe district, heads of more than ten schools have already shown interest. According to a spokeswoman for the Karlsruhe regional council, these were vocational, secondary schools and other schools in Mannheim, Pforzheim, Nagold (Calw district) and Calw. “We expect increased inquiries,” said the spokeswoman. It will be decided in a timely manner in agreement with school administrators and the health authorities whether the schools can convert. So far, the regional council of Stuttgart is aware of six reports from vocational schools in the city and district of Heilbronn.
Six urban and rural districts top the 200 mark
According to the current Corona regulation, the prerequisite for hybrid lessons is that the general and vocational schools are located in a high-risk area. This means that the number of new infections with the coronavirus has been on average over the past seven days per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the state health office. As the only city in Baden-Württemberg, Pforzheim currently has a value of more than 300 with 357.3 new infections (as of Tuesday), followed by Heilbronn with 268.6 infections. A total of six urban and rural districts are currently exceeding the 200 mark. So far, there are no such hotspots in the area of the Tübingen regional council.
Teachers’ union fears more work for school principals
The GEW criticized the fact that the Ministry of Education and Culture again expects the school administrators to do more work instead of making clear national regulations. “The coronavirus does not wait until a lengthy coordination process between the overburdened health authorities, the school administration and the school management to start the alternating lessons has been completed,” emphasized GEW regional director Monika Stein. She also criticizes the fact that there is no uniform regulation for alternating lessons. The schools increasingly felt that difficult decisions were being delegated to them.
Eisenmann: Changing classes should remain an exception
The updated Corona regulation of the Ministry of Culture was preceded by a week-long dispute in Baden-Württemberg about how to deal with the schools in view of the increasing number of infections. According to Susanne Eisenmann (CDU), the hybrid teaching model is only intended for exceptional cases and should not become the norm. “The decisive factor is whether the infection actually affects school operations,” said the ministry. Whether there is alternating operation from the eighth grade onwards will be checked and decided by the school management together with the responsible school supervisory authority and the health department. Health Minister Manfred Lucha (Greens) saw alternating classes from the outset as a tried and tested means of containing the risk of the spread of the corona virus. He also thought that equalization on the way to school was positive.
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